Just got a call (spoofed caller-ID, of course) with some guy claiming to be from AOL technical support. He was called to advise the security service on my computer had been turned off and he wanted to turn it back on. Now, the odd part is that he called about one of my four AOL accounts that I don't normally use and said "I even have the passcode (not password) of {ran off a string of digits}. Well, the e-mail address he gave was legit but not the password (I'd NEVER use a string of digits - that's something an idiot would put on their luggage, right????).
Since I already knew the call was a phishing attempt based on the bogus caller ID I decided to troll him for a bit.
I asked again who he worked for. He said AOL. I asked him "What does 'AOL' stand for?" He had to think about it for a minute. Figuring I didn't understand the letters he started giving me the letters in phonics (Apple, Operations, Limited) - he really had to stop and guess at 1) what words start with each letter and 2) make it sound like an actual business.
I had to keep from laughing too hard but I pressed him again "What do the letters stand for?" and he repeated it as if I was dense as a rock.
I told him I didn't trust him being from AOL. I asked him if he wanted to know why. He said yes. I told him it was because of the bogus caller-ID. He said he wasn't sure if that was a technical glitch or not. I told him no legitimate company will spoof caller-ID. Why should I trust you.
He pressed, "Just go to this website and I will prove it to you. And here is an 800 number you can call (and gave me an 877 number that I found out later on my cell phone is bogus)."
I asked him who he thought he was calling. He rattled off the screen name. I corrected him:
"WHAT....is....the...name...of...the...person...you...are...calling?"
He provided a name (which I won't reveal here) which was associated with the screen name used (not my name, though). I decided to throw him off the scent. "Oh, no wonder I don't get it." I said, pretending to finally understanding the confusion, "You've called the wrong number. There's no one here by that name and I don't have an AOL account."
I can't believe it but he actually tried to argue with me on that point as if I was wrong. Now he's going to be confused as hell.
I went out to Office Depot today to get ink for the printer. In the check-out I saw a small air horn for just $11. I got it.
Now I can't wait for the next scammer to call. I'm so evil sometimes.
Since I already knew the call was a phishing attempt based on the bogus caller ID I decided to troll him for a bit.
I asked again who he worked for. He said AOL. I asked him "What does 'AOL' stand for?" He had to think about it for a minute. Figuring I didn't understand the letters he started giving me the letters in phonics (Apple, Operations, Limited) - he really had to stop and guess at 1) what words start with each letter and 2) make it sound like an actual business.
I had to keep from laughing too hard but I pressed him again "What do the letters stand for?" and he repeated it as if I was dense as a rock.
I told him I didn't trust him being from AOL. I asked him if he wanted to know why. He said yes. I told him it was because of the bogus caller-ID. He said he wasn't sure if that was a technical glitch or not. I told him no legitimate company will spoof caller-ID. Why should I trust you.
He pressed, "Just go to this website and I will prove it to you. And here is an 800 number you can call (and gave me an 877 number that I found out later on my cell phone is bogus)."
I asked him who he thought he was calling. He rattled off the screen name. I corrected him:
"WHAT....is....the...name...of...the...person...you...are...calling?"
He provided a name (which I won't reveal here) which was associated with the screen name used (not my name, though). I decided to throw him off the scent. "Oh, no wonder I don't get it." I said, pretending to finally understanding the confusion, "You've called the wrong number. There's no one here by that name and I don't have an AOL account."
I can't believe it but he actually tried to argue with me on that point as if I was wrong. Now he's going to be confused as hell.
I went out to Office Depot today to get ink for the printer. In the check-out I saw a small air horn for just $11. I got it.
Now I can't wait for the next scammer to call. I'm so evil sometimes.
